Responding to today’s appeal decision overturning the murder conviction of a woman who had a later abortion while reducing the sentences of medical staff, Amnesty International Korea’s Executive Director HeeKyoung Cho said:
“While we welcome the court’s decision to acquit the woman who sought abortion, the court’s decision to uphold the convictions of medical staff exposes structural loopholes in access to essential healthcare in South Korea.
“The National Assembly’s failure to amend the abortion law has left pregnant people without clear legal protections and access to essential reproductive healthcare. People’s ability to exercise their reproductive autonomy, control their reproductive lives and decide if, when and how to have children is essential to the full realization of human rights, dignity, and bodily integrity. Moreover, the ability to make decisions about one’s body, sexuality and reproduction is at the core of gender, economic and social justice.
“Women deserve the latest and best medical care. The government must implement measures to remove barriers to accessing safe abortion as well as to provide proper regulations on abortion service provision. The Mother and Child Health Act must immediately be amended to prioritize women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.”
Background
On 23 July, the Seoul High Court acquitted a woman who had been charged with murder for undergoing a later abortion. While the convictions of medical staff in relation to the later abortion were upheld, their sentences were reduced. The doctor who performed the procedure was sentenced to six months in prison, while the hospital director was sentenced to four years in prison, a fine of 1.5 million won (1,022 US dollars) and forfeiture of 9 million won (6,133 US dollars).
In June 2024, a 26-year-old South Korean woman terminated a pregnancy at approximately 34 to 36 weeks’ gestation at a clinic in Incheon. She documented her experience and hospitalization in a YouTube vlog, which subsequently went viral. As the video gained public attention, the Ministry of Health and Welfare commissioned the police to investigate the case and petitioned for “severe punishment”. In January 2026, prosecutors sought to charge the woman, along with the medical staff and people who facilitated arranging the abortion, with “premeditated murder”.
On 4 March 2026, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced the woman to three years in prison, suspended for five years. She was also ordered to complete 200 hours of community service. The doctor who performed the procedure was sentenced to four years in prison, while the hospital director received a six-year prison sentence, a fine of 1.5 million won (1,022 US dollars) and forfeiture of 1.15 billion won (783,709 US dollars). One of the persons involved in facilitating the abortion received a one-year prison sentence, and the other one was sentenced to ten months in prison, suspended for two years.
In 2019, the Constitutional Court ruled South Korea’s ban on abortion to be unconstitutional and ordered the National Assembly to amend the law by the end of 2020. While abortion has been decriminalized, the National Assembly has yet to enact new regulatory frameworks, thus undermining pregnant people’s access to vital healthcare.